Life Off the Map

Chad Missildine
  • 5.0 (21)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

Life Off the Map is a podcast about choosing a different path—when the default route stops working. Hosted by Chad Missildine, the show explores how people find rhythm, meaning, and forward motion when life moves off the paved road. Some episodes are recorded on unpaved trails or in the middle of real life. Others are conversations with people who've taken risks, changed direction, and learned to live with both intention and mystery. This isn't about hacks or formulas. It's about paying attention, finding your rhythm, and making the next honest move—especially when the path isn't clear. If you've done what you were "supposed" to do and still feel the pull toward something more, you'll feel at home here.

  1. Why Your Best Adventures Leave Room for Surprise: Beef Jerky, Fly Rods, and a Colorado Road Trip

    1d ago

    Why Your Best Adventures Leave Room for Surprise: Beef Jerky, Fly Rods, and a Colorado Road Trip

    Most of us spend our lives trying to optimize everything. We map the route, fill every hour, and work hard to make sure nothing goes wrong. But somewhere along the way, we may have stopped leaving room for surprise. In this episode, Chad loads up a Jeep with homemade beef jerky, fly rods, camping gear, and a loose plan, then heads west toward Colorado. Along the way he retraces a 30-year-old memory, fishes a legendary canyon, reflects on a summer that quietly shaped his life, and discovers that the best adventures—and often the best parts of life—rarely follow the itinerary. In this episode, you'll discover: Why leaving margin in your schedule can create room for some of life's best moments. The forgotten story hiding behind one of Colorado's most beautiful rivers. How places from your past can quietly shape the person you're becoming. A simple question that may help you rediscover wonder instead of trying to control every outcome. Why your next adventure doesn't have to be a Colorado road trip—it may simply be the decision to leave room for surprise this week. If you enjoy these kinds of stories, join the Sunday Trail Notes for weekly reflections, behind-the-scenes stories, photos from the trip, and practical next steps inspired by each episode. You can sign up at lifeoffthemapshow.com. Related episodes: Ep 28 - When Your Life Gets Rearranged: Fishing Boats, Art Studios, and King Kong  Ep 27 - What Most Men Are Missing - A Story from the Blue River Ep 25 - The Summer Edit: Less Busy, More Alive, More You

    27 min
  2. When Your Life Gets Rearranged: Fishing Boats, an Art Studio, and King Kong

    Jun 23

    When Your Life Gets Rearranged: Fishing Boats, an Art Studio, and King Kong

    What does a canoe in Chicago, an art studio in Oklahoma, and a giant movie monster have in common? More than you might think. In this episode, Chad reflects on a season of unexpected change and the people who taught him a different way to move through it. Along the way, you'll meet a grandmother who opened her home to artists and friends, a father who created adventures out of ordinary moments, an actor who found purpose outdoors, and a few surprising lessons from Adam Sandler, Nick Offerman, and King Kong. When life gets rearranged, some people retreat. Others seem to come alive. This episode explores the environments, relationships, and creative practices that help us stay open to wonder, connection, and growth—even when the map no longer looks like we expected. In this episode: Why creativity often grows during seasons of disruption The hidden power of creating experiences for other people What fishing boats, campfires, and art studios can teach us about joy Lessons from Nick Offerman on the outdoors and a meaningful life Why relationships and creativity are more connected than we realize How to stay open when your life gets rearranged Related Episodes: Episode 26: When the Map Stops Making Sense - A Crew Convo with Ernest Shackleton  Episode 25: The Summer Edit: Less Busy. More Alive. More You. Episode 27: What Most Men are Missing - A Story from the Blue River & Feeling Like Yourself Again

    30 min
  3. What Most Men Are Missing - A Story from the Blue River & Feeling Like Yourself Again

    Jun 16

    What Most Men Are Missing - A Story from the Blue River & Feeling Like Yourself Again

    Most men don't need another productivity hack, leadership book, or five-step framework. They need to feel like themselves again. In this episode of Life Off the Map, Chad reflects on a weekend in southern Oklahoma, a river full of men in camo and pickup trucks, and a question that wouldn't leave him alone: What if men aren't falling apart all at once? What if they're slowly drifting away from the things that make them feel most like themselves? What starts as a fishing trip becomes a conversation about friendship, campfires, marriage, kids, solitude, God, and the strange way a river can tell the truth before you're ready to say it out loud. In this episode, we get into: • Why "What's wrong with men?" may be the wrong question • The quiet drift from adventure, friendship, challenge, beauty, and play • The difference between escapes that numb you and sources that bring you back • Why responsibility without restoration slowly changes us • One practical way to make room for what restores you in the next 30 days If you've been tired, restless, numb, or weirdly unlike yourself lately, this one may get under your skin in the best way. To get our Sunday Trail Notes with practical applications, refelctions and challenges, go to: lifeoffthemapshow.com Related Episodes: • Episode 24 — Joy Isn't Accidental: How to Feel More Present, Grounded and Alive • Episode 19 — Who Are You When No One Needs You? • Episode 15 — You Don't Grow Alone: A Crew Convo with Stephen Van Cauwenbergh

    28 min
  4. When the Map Stops Making Sense - A Crew Convo with Explorer Ernest Shackleton

    Jun 9

    When the Map Stops Making Sense - A Crew Convo with Explorer Ernest Shackleton

    In 1914, Ernest Shackleton set out to do something no one had ever done before: cross Antarctica on foot. He never made it. His ship became trapped in the ice. The expedition failed. The dream died. The map no longer matched reality. Most people know how to start an adventure. Far fewer know what to do when the original mission dies. More than a century later, we still tell Shackleton's story—not because he completed the mission, but because of how he responded when the mission fell apart. In this special Crew Convo episode, I sit down with virtual "Ernest Shackleton" and other documentation to explore one of history's greatest survival stories and what it teaches us about leadership, resilience, and finding a new mission when the original one disappears. In this episode: • Why Shackleton's original Antarctic mission failed before it ever began • The leadership decision that saved 27 men from disaster • How to adapt when the future you planned disappears • Why clinging to an outdated map often creates more suffering • The surprising relationship between failure and meaning • What it looks like to lead yourself and others through uncertainty • Why some of life's most important missions are the ones we never intended to take Life Off the Map is a podcast for leaders, builders, adventurers, and high-capacity people who want more than success. Each week, we explore what it means to live with greater courage, purpose, adventure, and aliveness. To sign up for Sunday Trail Notes, visit: lifeoffthemapshow.com Related Episodes: • Episode 25 — The Book Started Editing Me • Episode 24 — What Fear Does to Your Story • Episode 22 — Field Notes: What the Trail Keeps Teaching Me

    30 min
  5. The Summer Edit: Less Busy. More Alive. More You.

    Jun 2

    The Summer Edit: Less Busy. More Alive. More You.

    Somewhere in the middle of editing his upcoming book, Chad realized the questions he was asking about the manuscript had quietly become questions he was asking about his own life: What belongs? What doesn't? What's making the story better? And what's just making the story longer? In this reflective solo episode, the host shares a story from a construction project that unexpectedly became a turning point in his own life, along with lessons from writing, creativity, Donald Miller, Anne Lamott, Elizabeth Gilbert, and the surprising connection between editing a book and editing a life. If you've been feeling busy, scattered, stuck, or stretched thin this summer, this conversation is an invitation to slow down, pay attention, and make room for what matters most. In this episode, you'll discover: • Why growth often comes from subtraction, not addition • The difference between a full life and a meaningful one • How to quiet the competing voices fighting for your attention • Why motion beats inertia when you feel stuck • What stories reveal about what matters most to us • How to make room for what matters most this summer Along the way, Chad shares reflections on writing his second book, rebuilding a staircase during a difficult season, fear, creativity, identity, and the question that kept following him through every chapter: If you were editing your life right now, what would remain? Related Episodes • Episode 24 — Joy Isn't Accidental • Episode 22 — Field Notes from a Rebuilding Season: The Version No One Talks About • Episode 20 — Start Again. Drop the Story. For weekly reflections, behind-the-scenes book updates, and our Sunday Trail Notes, sign up at LifeOffTheMapShow.com.

    29 min
  6. Joy Isn't Accidental: How to Feel More Present, Grounded, and Alive

    May 26

    Joy Isn't Accidental: How to Feel More Present, Grounded, and Alive

    Joy isn't accidental. It's something we either cultivate or slowly lose without realizing it. In this solo episode of Life Off the Map, Chad reflects on why so many driven people feel tired, disconnected, or emotionally flat even while building a life that looks successful from the outside. Recorded after a trail run around Lake Arcadia, Oklahoma this conversation moves through everything from future-focused living and comparison to movement, gratitude, nervous system overload, isolation, and learning how to actually be present for your own life again. There's a difference between functioning and feeling fully alive. And a lot of people quietly lose themselves by living mentally somewhere other than where their life actually is. This episode is part reflection, part reset. If you've been running hard for a long time, feeling fragmented, emotionally exhausted, or disconnected from the things that used to make you feel grounded and alive, this conversation will probably hit close to home. In this episode: Why successful people often feel disconnected from their own lives The hidden cost of living mentally in the future How comparison quietly steals joy Why movement changes more than just your body Gratitude as a practice instead of a personality trait The connection between presence, alignment, and feeling alive again Related Episodes: Episode 8 — Move First: How to Stop Overthinking, Shift Your State, and Get Clear Episode 19 — Who Are You When No One Needs You? Episode 22 — Field Notes from a Rebuilding Season: The Version No One Talks About Episode 23 — The Courage to Feel Fully Alive Again: A Crew Conversation with Roxanne Parks More episodes, trail notes, and reflections: LifeOfftheMapShow.com

    37 min
  7. The Courage to Feel Fully Alive Again - Crew Convo with Roxanne Parks

    May 19

    The Courage to Feel Fully Alive Again - Crew Convo with Roxanne Parks

    A lot of people are waiting for life to feel different before they start living differently. But the real shift often begins with one small decision: stop blaming, stop sitting, stop drifting, and take ownership of the life in front of you. That kind of life will take courage. In this episode, Chad sits down with speaker, author, and coach Roxanne Parks for a lively, honest conversation about fear, gratitude, movement, grace, and the kind of faith that keeps choosing life. This is not a heavy episode. It feels more like sitting with someone who has lived enough life to tell the truth, laugh at herself, and remind you that your best days may still be ahead of you. In this episode, you'll hear: • Why the seemingly disconnected seasons of your life may actually be forming something meaningful • How fear, anxiety, and discouragement quietly steal your aliveness — and how to stop letting them lead • Why gratitude is more than positivity — it's a way to retrain your mind and attention • How to stop shaming yourself for "blue days" and start giving yourself real grace • Why physical movement, conversation, and friendship may be more connected than you think • How tiny daily choices slowly reshape your mindset, relationships, and direction • Why one honest baby step is often more powerful than waiting for the perfect plan This conversation is a reminder that life does not have to get bigger to become more alive. Sometimes the truer life begins when you take a walk, write down what you're grateful for, stop outsourcing responsibility, or take one honest step toward freedom. To connect with Roxanne, go to RoxanneParks.com 📍 Get the Trail Notes, related episodes, and next steps at lifeoffthemapshow.com 🎙️ Related Episodes: Episode 13 — Renew Your Mind, Change Your Path. Overcome What's Holding You Back Episode 14 — The Three Seasons of Life - From Success to Significance - Crew Convo with Boe Parrish Episode 16 — Too Many Paths: Why More Options are Making Your Life Worse Episode 20 — Start Again. Drop the Story.

    40 min
  8. Field Notes From a Rebuilding Season: The Version No One Posts About

    May 12

    Field Notes From a Rebuilding Season: The Version No One Posts About

    Most people like the idea of rebuilding until they actually find themselves living through it. In this more raw and reflective field notes-style episode, Chad records outdoors during a busy and uncertain season of life. Instead of a polished teaching episode, this conversation feels more like a trail journal from the middle of rebuilding — honest observations about movement, exhaustion, healing, isolation, rhythm, courage, family, work, gratitude, and learning to trust yourself again after enough pivots, disappointments, and restarts. Throughout the episode, Chad shares reflections from construction sites, open houses, podcasting, physical recovery, marriage, parenting, and the tension of trying to build a truer life instead of simply a bigger one. The result is a grounded and deeply human conversation about what it looks like to keep moving honestly through difficult seasons without pretending to have everything figured out. In this episode: Why movement changes the way we think and feel How isolation quietly distorts reality The version of rebuilding nobody posts about Why the body and nervous system matter more than many high achievers realize The difference between intensity and sustainable rhythm Why you may not need a new dream as much as more honesty, courage, gratitude, and presence If you've been feeling tired, fragmented, stretched thin, discouraged, or quietly wondering whether you still have enough runway left to build something meaningful, this episode will probably feel less like a lesson and more like sitting beside someone who's walking through it too. This is Life Off the Map — not polished advice from the mountaintop, but field notes from the middle of the trail. Trail Notes: lifeoffthemapshow.com Speaking/Coaching Inquiries: chadmissildine.com Related Episodes: Move First — How to Stop Overthinking, Shift Your State & Get Clear You Don't Grow Alone — But You've Been Trying To Start Again. Drop the Story — Life Audit Series Part 2

    27 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Life Off the Map is a podcast about choosing a different path—when the default route stops working. Hosted by Chad Missildine, the show explores how people find rhythm, meaning, and forward motion when life moves off the paved road. Some episodes are recorded on unpaved trails or in the middle of real life. Others are conversations with people who've taken risks, changed direction, and learned to live with both intention and mystery. This isn't about hacks or formulas. It's about paying attention, finding your rhythm, and making the next honest move—especially when the path isn't clear. If you've done what you were "supposed" to do and still feel the pull toward something more, you'll feel at home here.

Information

  • Creator
    Chad Missildine
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Life Off the Map

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